If you’re a fashionista, tweed and billabongs definitely do not mix. If you love camping and the great outdoors, you might not find too much use for tweed during your adventures (unless you’re in Scotland). But in this case, Tweed Billabong, a Big 4 camping ground and caravan park located at Tweed Heads, in the northernmost town of NSW, is a pretty great combination of family fun.
I admit my expectations weren’t high. My husband had stayed in a caravan park overnight with our oldest son on a bit of a road trip getaway and was keen to do something family friendly over the school holidays. I’m not much of a camper and while I was happy to stay in a cabin and in a caravan park, I had hoped to be closer to the beach. I was promised that this would be a great spot, despite its lack of proximity to the beach, and I wasn’t disappointed.
We booked the 2 bedroom cabin, knowing that my mum had agreed to join us for the trip, and hoping that the bunk bed would be alright for her, as she would have to share with the boys. We could only hope they wouldn’t keep her awake all night.
The first morning, mum takes the boys for a walk – they’ve been up for a while and they discover the jumping pillow and Coral Cove, a children’s play room. They bundle back into the cabin after their adventure, animated about what there is to see and do. With this enthusiasm driving us, we all head out to explore. It’s a nice spot, there are campers up and about and kids running everywhere. We end up back at the jumping pillows although I don’t have the stamina needed for this type of activity.
There is a children’s playground too and we check out the facilities at the communal Kitchen & Lounge, overlooking the billabong. The billabong is busy, there is a pontoon and aqua play equipment and I’m surprised at how young some of the children are that have swum out to the middle. There are people swimming, diving, playing, paddle boarding and kayaking and we promise our kids a turn on the paddle boards later.
We head back to our Coolibah Cabin and get changed. We’re keen to try out the water slides. The Water Park is located slightly separately behind some camping sites and we walk over with a few supplies – water and snacks – and the usual load of towels, goggles and kids’ paraphernalia. We find a spot and it’s already busy. There are lounges and tables available for the parents and kids all over the place. Our oldest isn’t quite old enough to go off by himself usually, but here it’s completely fenced and small enough to be able to supervise from a very comfy lounge.
We settle onto a lounge with some shade and the little one toddles off happily to a smaller play area and he warms up on one of the baby slides before building up the courage to follow his brother onto the bigger ones, with a little help from dad, mum and grandma – we all take it in turns to supervise.
There’s no need to move from here. We’re pretty much set for the day. We all have fun on the water slides and dodging the fall of the giant bucket. One of us ducks back to the cabin to make some sandwiches for lunch and bring over a few snacks but it’s all so close and easy that the day just disappears. Before we know it we’re starting to shiver and the sun has all but set. We hop under the warm showers that are available in the change rooms and head back to the cabin tired and hungry again. Everyone sleeps like a log.
The next day we go to the water park again the morning and then spend some time at the billabong in the afternoon. We swim out to the pontoons and try our hand at balancing along the slippery obstacle courses. There are sand castles and paddling on the beach and a turn on the kayak and paddle boards as promised. At the children’s nap time we take the opportunity to lay out the front of the cabins, under the coolibahs and have a glass of wine and some cheese. Later on, the billy is boiled (so to speak) for a cuppa.
My husband and I get a date night in, courtesy of mum’s willingness to babysit, and we head into the Spice Den at the Santai Resort at Casuarina for a memorable meal.
The rest of the stay is equally relaxing. We alternate between water activities, play grounds and the billabong. The children find some friends and play soccer on the lawn and blow bubbles in the grass. We’ve brought enough food with us to last a week and the promise of daily ice cream treats keeps the kids on their best behavior.
My husband was right – we don’t even need the beach. It’s all here at the Tweed, all you need are the togs and towels.
Would I Return?
Yes. Tweed Billabong is ideal for families with children. It’s got everything you need here although the nearest supermarket is a drive away. Be sure to book well ahead for school holidays as it’s a popular spot and the best cabins and sites sell out fast.